Kelly Cook learned to swim when she was just over a year old in Greensboro, N.C., and hasn't spent much time away from the pool since. By age five, she was leading Atlanta's Brookwood Hills Swim Team to club victories with her trademark speed in the freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. She won state age-group titles as a junior, swam in high school for Pace Academy, and competed as a collegiate swimmer at the University of Arkansas.
At age eight, Kelly found her second love: running. After years of cheering on her parents, who are avid distance runners, Kelly ran the Peachtree Road Race in 1982. By age 14, she had broken Georgia's high school record for the mile run with a time of 4:57.7 in the spring of 1988. There was only one problem: Kelly was still in the eighth grade. Since she was ineligible for high school competition, her record didn't count.
Later she made up for lost time, earning seven Georgia high school state championships in track and cross country. At the University of Arkansas she made the All-Southeastern Conference track team in the 10,000-meter run (6.2 miles). She also managed to graduate with the highest grade point average of any student athlete (3.96).
Back in Atlanta, Kelly wasn't sure she had found her longer-term athletic niche, despite amazing successes with running and swimming. A new option presented itself when the International Olympic Committee added the triathlon to the Summer Olympics program.
The triathlon is a grueling discipline. At the Olympic level, a triathlete must complete more than six miles of distance running, nearly a mile of open-water swimming, and 25 miles of road cycling. All require varying blends of toughness, patience, and skill. Most Olympic athletes cover the combined distance in just over two hours.
Kelly still had to master the bicycle. City life and competing in two sports hadn't left much time in earlier years; in fact, she hadn't ridden a bike much at all from age 14 to 24.
Competitive cycling is by no means a casual ride around the neighborhood. It is a muscle-burning endurance exercise requiring cyclists to draft within inches of each other at more than 25 miles per hour -- and for hours at a time.
In 2000, she debuted in the triathlon with a win at "Memphis in May," and as the first amateur to complete the North American Triathlete Series Championship. In 2001, she won "Memphis in May" again, took third in her age group at the World Amateur Championships, and finished first among females at the Pan-American Amateur Championships. Kelly was also recognized as a United States Masters Swimming All-American in 2001.
Kelly turned pro in 2001, and finished sixth at the U.S. Pro Nationals in New York City. In 2002, she pursued her first International Triathlon Union ranking. Earning a ranking is the key step towards an Olympic Trials berth, which was Kelly's goal. After competing all over the world the next two years (see Kelly's race reports by year) Kelly was ranked in the top ten of American triathletes and her world ranking earned her the opportunity, with expenses paid, to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Hawaii.
Kelly had a great Olympic Trials performance, finishing 5th American, and 8th overall. This earned her one of the 6 spots on the U.S. World team, representing the United States at the World Triathlon Championships in Portugal. At the World Championships, Kelly finished as the 5th American and had an amazing experience being on a World Team.
The following year, Kelly competed in triathlons representing Team Aegis. She is presently taking a break from Triathlons, though competes in some local road races and plans to participate in the 2007 World Aquathlon Championship in Mexico. Kelly has taken a Speak Easy course and is doing some motivational speaking as well as becoming a Certified Character Coach. She also does some individual and Community coaching.
